


Galo And Lio Are Bad At This

by cavalry



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Minor Gueira/Meis (Promare), Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23801686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cavalry/pseuds/cavalry
Summary: Neither of them have done this before.Galo wants to take care of Lio. Lio wants to show Galo how he feels.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 8
Kudos: 114





	Galo And Lio Are Bad At This

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this before Valentine's Day, but got busy and had to drop it. Anyway, #PromareWatchParty happened, and I was once again Possessed By The Spirit Of Promare and ended up picking this back up! Please enjoy this unseasonably late fic.
> 
> There are a couple of text conversations in this fic. If you're not able to view the embedded images, I have transcripts in the notes at the end.
> 
> Feel free to follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/uplifting

Galo has never celebrated Valentine’s Day.

He forgets about it, actually, until Aina reminds him. They’re taking their lunch in the breakroom, Aina sprawled out on the couch and Galo pouring a fresh protein shake out of the blender. He takes a sip. Eh, too much banana.

“Are you and Lio doing anything fun for Valentine’s?” Aina asks, and Galo almost spits smoothie everywhere.

“Wh—Valentine’s—wait, when is that?!”

Aina sits up, giving him a Look. He knows that look. That’s her _I’m trying to figure out if you’re messing with me or if you’re genuinely this much of an idiot_ look.

“Seriously?” she says at last. He just looks at her helplessly. “Galo, it’s this Friday!”

It’s currently Monday, which gives him—a quick, panicked calculation—only _four_ days to get something together.

Galo has run into fires, been launched out of cannons, and fought his former mentor with the fate of the planet at stake, but somehow this is more terrifying than any of that.

“Aina!” he wails. “Help me!”

\--

Lio has never celebrated Valentine’s Day.

He awakened young, which meant he never had much of a chance at a normal life. For a few years his parents attempted to keep him hidden—homeschooled, not let out of the house, practicing meditation every day to keep his flames under control.

But now he has a life. He has a job and an apartment and friends and a windowsill of plants and even, well, a _boyfriend._

That last one is the hardest thing to wrap his head around. He spent the past five years learning the hard lesson that everything is temporary. Shelter, friends, food. Good things don’t last for him.

He wakes up sometimes in the warm circle of Galo’s arms wondering if tomorrow he’ll be gone, if this is one long, delirious dream.

So, yes, he’s never celebrated Valentine’s Day. He’s been seeing advertisements for it though recently—commercials, print ads, displays set up in every store—and wonders if he should do something for Galo.

Lio isn’t particularly good at romantic gestures, but Galo is. When Galo has to leave before him in the morning, he leaves the cereal out, and a note signed with a heart. Galo gushes to everyone he knows about how cool and smart and strong and wonderful his boyfriend is. Galo is open with his emotions, open with affection, open with love.

He’s grateful for Galo. Valentine’s Day may be commercialized and frankly beyond his understanding, but if it’s a day to show love, Galo deserves to be shown it.

Unfortunately, Lio doesn’t really have an abundance of normal people friends with normal people experience he can ask. Thanks to Galo, he’s on friendly terms with Burning Rescue, but he’s still a bit on edge around most of them. (That’s another occupational hazard he hasn’t quite been able to shake. Trust no one.)

Meis and Gueira are the only actual couple he knows, but by the time they met they were both Burnish on the run, so he doubts they have much experience with this kind of thing. 

Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask. 

It’s the end of the workday and they’re at their favorite bar. Lio doesn’t normally drink on Mondays, but he’s been dealing with obnoxious bureaucrats all day, and he could really, really use a drink. Lio is drinking a Cabernet, which is something they’ve teased him about relentlessly. (“It’s a dive bar, Boss! Who orders wine?”)

“What are you guys doing for Valentine’s Day?” he asks.

“Dunno,” says Gueira. “Banging it out, I guess?”

Lio must be making some sort of face, because they both take a look at him and burst into laughter.

“Nah, but seriously,” says Gueira. “We’re not really the _chocolate and roses_ type. It’s always seemed like kind of a pointless holiday.”

“Are you telling me you’re not getting me chocolate and roses?” says Meis, with mock offense.

“Aw, babe! I’ll get you anything you want!”

They’re like that now. Openly affectionate. It’s nice to see. They deserve to be happy.

Of course, Lio’s not really a fan of the PDA. He turns back to his wine, swirling it around as he thinks.

—

Galo and Aina spend the rest of their lunch break Googling Valentine’s ideas.

“How much does Lio like sea turtles?” Aina asks. “You can symbolically adopt a sea turtle for him.”

“Um,” says Galo, “the normal amount, I guess?”

He changes his search to “Valentine’s ideas for boyfriend.” Fishing lure, beer mug, pocket watch—none of these things look like anything Lio would be interested in. Cufflinks? Had even ever seen Lio wear cufflinks?

Aftershave, whiskey, pocket knife. Why were all these gifts so… aggressively masculine?

“Aina!” he whines. “None of these are any good!”

“Well, okay, calm down,” she says. “You know him best. What are his interests?”

“Burnish rights.”

“Okay, not sure you’re getting a Valentine’s gift out of that one. Anything else?”

Galo thinks. “He got a cat,” he says finally.

“You are not getting him cat toys.”

Galo slides off the couch melodramatically. “I’m doomed,” he says. “I’m going to ruin Valentine’s Day for the love of my life.”

“First off, _love of my life_ , wow, we are definitely talking about that later. Second off, you’re not going to ruin it. Come on, you’re Galo Thymos! Where’s your fighting spirit?”

“This isn’t a problem I can extinguish, Aina,” he whines, but he does feel kind of encouraged at that.

—

Lio stops at the store on his way home. He picks up toothpaste and milk, even though he could have gone a few more days before needing to restock.

While he’s there he _happens_ to pass the Valentine’s section, and decides to take a look.

There’s a stuffed bear holding a heart that says “I love you BEARY much!” It’s cute, he supposes, but seems… cheap. And Galo is a grown man. Surely he wouldn’t want a stuffed toy, would he?

There are various boxes of chocolates, most shaped like hearts, but Galo has never had a sweet tooth. There’s a section of floral arrangements as well, but Galo has never shown any particular interest in flowers. (Actually, when Lio started buying his own plants, Galo mentioned he used to have plants but never remembered to water them. Apparently he had even let a cactus die. So. Probably not that.)

There are greeting cards as well, but it seems horribly lazy to use someone else’s words as a gift. He supposes he could buy a blank card and write out his feelings himself, but Lio’s never been good at expressing his feelings. He’s been lowering his guard, little by little, but the idea of pouring his heart out seems… well, impossible.

In the end, he leaves without buying anything.

—

Galo falls asleep that night restlessly, and wakes up hours later with something bouncing around his mind.

“Calm down,” Aina had said, “you know him best.”

But that wasn’t true, was it? Meis and Gueira had known him longer, and probably had all _sorts_ of great advice. Galo fumbles for his phone and fired off a text.

Galo drops his phone to the bed and sighs. Well. That was completely unhelpful.

—

Lio spends the next day distracted. None of the gifts seem right. Perhaps an experience, then? A romantic date, like a hot air balloon flight or wine tasting.

Well, he doubts Galo would be interested in hot air balloons. He loves the outdoors; something like a picnic would be perfect if it wasn’t currently thirty degrees and slushy outside.

Rock climbing? But a date to a gym would be—well, knowing Galo, that might actually be something he would enjoy, but the atmosphere is hardly what he would call romantic.

Lio Fotia is someone who does things right the first time. His years on the run meant he could afford nothing less; one slip-up could have meant capture.

It’s really starting to frustrate him. Something so mundane shouldn’t be so difficult.

—

“Listen,” says Aina, “don’t overthink it. Just take him out to a nice dinner.”

Dinner! That’s what people do, right? Fancy dinners in fancy clothes, talking in murmurs about… the economy, or whatever it is fancy people talk about. Those kinds of restaurants aren’t Galo’s scene, but he imagines Lio fitting right in. They could both wear suits, and maybe Lio would pull his hair back, and order one of those wines he likes and smile at Galo over the rim—

Yeah, that sounds good.

Galo calls the fanciest restaurant he knows, which is definitely out of his price range, but whatever, he can figure something out.

“I’m sorry, sir,” says the woman on the phone, “but we booked up a month ago. You really need to book ahead for Valentine’s.”

Well, shit. He calls the next fanciest restaurant he knows, and is told the same. He runs down the list of every restaurant he knows that seems at all appropriate for a nice dinner, and hears the same, again and again.

“Can we just go to the pizza place?” he asks, a little desperate.

“Oh my god, Galo, we go to the pizza place like three times a week, please do not take him there for Valentine’s.”

“If I can’t take him to the pizza place I don’t know where I’m gonna take him!”

“Just… keep calling, okay? Come on, I’ll help.”

—

It’s Tuesday night, and Lio wishes he had spent more time on this, but of course hindsight is 20/20.

He goes to bed hoping perhaps he’ll have an idea in the morning.

—

It’s Tuesday night, and Galo is admittedly starting to panic. 

He just… loves Lio a lot, okay? He hasn’t been able to shake the sense, since they started dating, that Lio is out of his league. 

More than that, Lio deserves nice things. His life has been so hard for so long. The world owes him some comfort.

So yeah, Galo spoils him, in every way he can. It just never feels like enough. 

Lio deserves so much. Lio deserves _everything_.

—

Lio spends the next day still brainstorming, and growing increasingly frustrated that he _just doesn’t know_.

It’s too late to have anything shipped. There’s nothing in any of the stores that seems worthwhile, and it turns out all the restaurants have long been booked. 

He should just ask Galo, he thinks. Perhaps it ruins the element of romantic surprise, but it makes sense. He’ll be honest and tell Galo he’s never done this before, and he doesn’t have anything prepared, and he’s sorry, but is there anything he’d like to do that Lio would be able to get set up by Friday? Or perhaps they could celebrate another day. Is that a thing people do? The more he thinks about it, the more it feels right.

He calls Galo after work. “Hey,” he says, “can I come over?”

“Huh?!” says Galo, sounding genuinely… panicked? “What, _now_? I mean, I, um—”

“Do you have other plans?”

“Well, no, not plans, exactly—ah…”

“I really want to talk to you,” says Lio.

There’s a moment of silence, then Galo says. “Okay. Just… give me a little time to clean up, okay? Like an hour?”

“I’ll see you then,” says Lio, wondering what exactly he caught Galo in the middle of.

—

As soon as Lio steps though the door, he can smell it: the heady aroma of something badly burnt.

It’s nostalgic for him, but certainly uncharacteristic for Galo, a man who refuses to light birthday candles “out of principal.”

“Galo?” he asks. Galo is trying to salvage a tray of what Lio thinks used to be asparagus.

“You were cooking?” Lio asks, amused. “Well, it’s about time. I’ve told you that you can’t live on ramen and takeout forever.”

Galo goes rigid like a child caught mid-mischief.

“Hey, Lio,” he says awkwardly. “I was just, uh—” Galo looks at him for a moment, still with that deer-in-headlights look, then slumps his shoulders.

“I was just trying to learn to cook before Friday! I really should have started sooner, haha.” He rubs the back of his neck self-consciously. 

“You were… trying to learn to cook?”

“Yeah, look, I—” Galo takes a deep breath, and then everything comes out in a gush. “I’ve never done this Valentine’s thing before and I had no idea what to get you and I thought hey, maybe I could cook something, that’s romantic right? But I’ve never really cooked before but I figured I could learn in time if I practiced a few times but so far it really hasn’t been going well, and actually this might not happen in time for Friday and I’m really sorry, Lio!”

Lio stood there for a minute, then laughed. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“To be honest, this is a relief,” he said, feeling the weight slip off his shoulders. “I didn’t know what to get you either.”

“I don’t need anything!” said Galo, with complete earnestness. “I just wanted to do something nice for _you_!” 

“And I wanted to do something nice for you. I suppose neither of us is very good at this holiday.”

“Hey—” says Galo, starting to protest on instinct. “Okay, no, you’re right.”

Lio steps forward and lets himself lean against Galo. Galo’s arms come up to hug him. 

“How about this?” says Lio. “I come over, we get takeout, and we watch one of those action movies you like.”

“You sure?” asks Galo, stroking Lio’s hair. “I mean, it seems so… uncool!”

“I don’t need anything special,” says Lio. “I just like spending time with you.”

“Lio,” says Galo, sounding a little choked up.

Lio tucks his chin in the crook of Galo’s neck. They’re still standing there, holding each other. It’s nice to be held.

“Okay,” Galo says finally. “This year. But next year’s Valentine’s is gonna blow your socks off! It’s gonna be the biggest, baddest, most awesome, coolest, most romantic Valentine’s Day you’ve ever seen!”

“Not if mine is bigger, badder, and cooler,” says Lio.

“Oh? Is that a _challenge_??”

Lio pulls back so he can smirk at him. “Maybe it is.”

“I accept your challenge! Next year will be an epic battle to see whose plans truly are the greatest plans!”

He’s doing his announcer voice. It’s ridiculous.

Lio loves him.

“Here,” he says, nudging Galo out of the way. “Let me help you clean up.”

He dumps the ruined asparagus in the trash as Galo starts washing dishes. Is this what domesticity feels like?

“You know,” says Galo after a moment’s pause. “I asked Meis and Gueira what I should get you.”

“Do I even want to know what they said?”

“They said I should give you my body.”

“Oh?” says Lio, coming up behind Galo and hooking his chin over his shoulder. “What did you have in mind?”

—

**Author's Note:**

> Text transcripts:
> 
> Mid-fic  
> Galo: What should I get Lio for Valentine's Day???????  
> Meis: Galo it's 4am  
> Galo: Sorry  
> Meis: Why is everyone so obsessed w valentines lately  
> Galo: Please help me!!!! I don't know what to do!!!!!  
> Meis: [...]  
> Meis: Gueira says "just give him your body"  
> Meis: He wouldn't stop bugging me until I sent you that  
> Gueira: Thx babe  
> Galo: Guys I'm SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
> Gueira: Just give him chocolates or something. He really doesn't care  
> Gueira: Can we go back to sleep now  
> Galo: Yeah sorry
> 
> End of the fic  
> Galo: Your advice worked!  
> Gueira: The chocolates?  
> Galo: No ;)  
> Gueira: YEAHHHHHHHH BUDDY


End file.
